


Empire State of Mind

by authorwithoutaquill



Series: Timepetalsprompts drabbles [5]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Drabble Collection, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, New York City, Team TARDIS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-09 11:40:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5538509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/authorwithoutaquill/pseuds/authorwithoutaquill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack took Rose to the most fantastic place in the world - well, on Earth - well, according to him. But it's Christmas and Rose is thankful for any and all distractions from the fact that her Doctor isn't there with her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Empire State of Mind

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Timepetalsprompts weekly drabble theme: Noël. It is the continuation of the drabble series this belongs to. The stories in order are: Can't Do It, Frozen Heart, Roses and Snowdrops, Displaced and this one.
> 
> Also - I tripped and wrote Team Tardis. It seems like everything I touch turns into Team Tardis. I'm not at all sorry. Hope you enjoy!

It was Christmas Eve. They were standing at the top of the Empire State Building, staring down into the sea of lights below. She was blinded. The tears came unbidden and she turned her head so Jack wouldn’t see.

She was supposed to be happy. He brought her up here to bedazzle her, to bring a smile to her face and make her forget her sorrows. And here she was crying…

“Hush now, Rosie, it’s going to be alright! We’re going to fix that ship and we’ll find your Doctor. But please don’t cry tonight. It’s Christmas! We’re at the top of the world! What more could you wish for?”

Rose gave him a watery smile and snuggled into his side. Jack Harkness may have been a con man, but he also had a heart of gold. The fact that he could get out of all the tight spots without much difficulty also endeared him to Rose, but it wasn’t hard to see through his light hearted charmer-act to the man beneath. And she liked what she found there, even if it wasn’t what she expected at all.

She didn’t think they could escape the gas-mask people, but Jack teleported them out. There was a moment of panic when he disappeared and for anyone else it could have looked like he left her. The thought didn’t linger for more than a second in her mind though - she trusted Jack, even if she didn’t know him yet. And he did get her out in the end. His spaceship got both of them out.

True, they did not solve the problem itself, and that left both of them a little uneasy, but she was almost entirely sure that the Doctor would arrive there before long and make things right. As he always did.

She squeezed her eyes shut against the new flood of tears and hugged Jack tighter.

“Thank you. I really appreciate what you’ve done for me. Today, the barrage-balloon save, getting me out from the hospital…” Her voice died down and she sniffled.

“Just… Thank you.”

He smiled and kissed the top of her head, looking down at New York below them.

“Anytime at all, darling. Come on, I brought some champagne.”

They drank and he danced with her, mischief sparkling in his eyes, lights dancing on his face and Rose thought she could fall in love with him so easy.

Except… There was the Doctor.

Always the Doctor.

Like Mickey said.

And suddenly she couldn’t.

He must’ve seen it because his smile turned from flirty to warm, and instead of the kiss he’d been leaning in for he nuzzled her hair and spun her around so she was looking down at the city once more.

That’s when she saw it. A little dot of blue, fading in and out of sight. If she strained her ears she could almost hear the strange wheezing sound the Tardis made…

She was at the elevator faster than she could say “Doctor” and was already shouting for Jack to get himself moving.

“Is it him? Did you see him?”

“No, I saw his Tardis. His… erm… spaceship.”

Jack stopped in his tracks, looking puzzled, “I saw no spaceships. Is his one invisible too?”

Rose laughed and shook her head, “You’ll see when we get there. It’s a bit hard to explain.”

And with that the lift doors opened and she was off, running to the Tardis once more.

He came for her! The Doctor came back for her! There was no question this time. He couldn’t have come for anything else!

She’d tell him how she felt and wouldn’t let him go without her. She’d make the Doctor take Jack on board too. Adam was a very bad idea, but the Captain was different.

The Doctor, her and Jack: Team Tardis. She giggled out loud as she imagined how the Doctor would roll his eyes at her name choice. _You’re not calling us Team Tardis, Rose._ But she’d make him like that too!

Jack smiled at the look on Rose’s face and attempted to keep up, but it was impossible. It was like she grew wings - which she had, he supposed, in a manner of speaking. That girl really loved her Doctor! Well, he knew it before, but it was blindingly obvious now.

Jack couldn’t wait to meet the man who had his Rosie so enthralled. When she became “his Rosie”, he didn’t know, but as soon as the thought struck him he realized it was true. He swore to take care of her, somewhere between spotting her hanging onto that rope and teleporting her back to safety on his ship. And he wouldn’t stop now. He just hoped this Doctor of hers would understand.

It was bound to be an interesting meeting either way…

As Jack rounded the corner and saw Rose dashing towards a blue police box at the end of the street, he slowed down to a trot and started whistling. The sky was clear and the city was abuzz with Christmas cheer. Surely, nothing could go wrong.

**Author's Note:**

> Be a star and leave a comment or kudo if you liked the story. Thank you!


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